Test Smarter, Not Harder: How To Avoid Over-Testing Your Application

Test Smarter, Not Harder: How To Avoid Over-Testing Your Application

We all can agree that glitch-ridden software has a cost. The worst software failures can cripple business, impede operations, and lose considerable revenue. And no business, regardless of size or resources, is immune when they shortchange their own testing in the midst of custom application development. Yet over-testing your application takes your business too far in the opposite direction.

Ever heard the phrase “moderation in all things?” Aristotle’s words perfectly apply to smart application testing. The goal is finding a happy medium. You do not want to unleash untested code on unsuspecting end users nor do you want to put the totality of your work under 40 microscopes in search of glitches.

Our IT consultants have years of experience testing applications and they know how to test your application smarter, not harder. Here are just a few of the ways you can keep your next application from being bogged down in over-testing.

ADOPTING SMART DEVELOPMENT PRACTICES

Effective application development is holistic. Software testing is not an autonomous process but a piece of a larger whole. But how do you incorporate catching bugs and finding breaks with your application development best practices? It may take shifting your development philosophy to practices that prioritize testing.

DevOps – The predisposition of DevOps practices to tear down walls and demolish silos makes it a natural fit to avoid over-testing. Bringing testers to the story mapping process informs their work. They will be familiar with the application’s skeletal structure and know which part of the build’s load-bearing code should receive the brunt of their tests.

And since DevOps is geared toward building interchangeable components rather than one behemoth app, testing will not create drag on sprints. After one component is completed, manual or automated tests can be deployed while developers shift to the next component.

Some Test-Driven Development – Now hear us out. You might wonder how a strategy that emphasizes testing over code-writing can help avoid over-testing your application. And if you use a test-driven development approach unquestioningly, then we can guarantee at least a few instances where you will need to do major refactoring with your code. However, occasionally writing tests before you code can help.

When you want to keep your code functional, something minimalist even by MVP standards, test-driven development can keep you from over-testing your work. You create the test, write only enough code to pass that test, and repeat. If done correctly, there are fewer bugs and fewer tests to create and deploy.

PICKING THE BEST AUTOMATED TESTING TOOLS

Manual testing can get repetitive. Sometimes, it is okay to let a bot do your testing for you. Menial tasks, a high volume of regression testing iterations, and stress tests can usually be handled by testing automation. From that point, you need to pick which tools work best for your team.

The selection process can take a fair amount of time and depends on a roulette wheel of variables. We will not advocate any specific testing tools for that reason. What works for your business might be a disaster for another and vice versa. Yet you can narrow down the playing field by selecting testing automation tools that address the following criteria:

Your business needs

Your development and testing environment

Your preexisting applications and tools

Your ability to handle the learning curve

HOW TO CONFIDENTLY AVOID OVER-TESTING YOUR APPLICATION

Putting all of these practices into place takes time, effort, and skill. To get the most out of your application testing practices, you need to keep an eye on the market and be ready to shift when better tactics become available. Do you have time to handle your job and keep all those pots in the fire without charring the contents inside? Or would it be better and easier to use an outsourced IT solutions provider?

At AIT Global, we have a team of trained IT professionals who know how to quickly bring your next application from concept to completion without lagging in the testing phase. Check out our Testing & QA Services to learn more about what we can do for your business.